Variations on an Oft Battered Theme
by lucifer ravana
Summary: Written for a friend. Drabbles, all pertaining to the Marius/Eponine pairing or simply Eponine. A take off on what could have been and what-if upon what happened next.
1. Chapter 1

(AN: A dear friend linked me to a few fics this morning. It is for her that I'm putting up these three drabbles. They don't need to be linked together. One could easily take them as separate. She enjoys Marius/Eponine sans Cosette bashing and I despise bashing of any character. Thus, these drabbles.)

* * *

She grew up hearing stories of knights on horses. She learned of gentlemen when she became older. What few books she read spoke of romance and how the man was always the one to slay the beasts and rescue the damsel in distress. The princess or queen wouldn't be bothered with the hassles of ruling her kingdom and tended to seek adventure elsewhere.

The streets were her kingdom, and within them she held no responsibilities except to herself and sometimes to Azelma. She subsisted on a day to day plan of finding anything she could to eat. She moved fluidly but gracefully, her lithe being capable of doing so despite the rags that she wore. She sometimes paused to look at the prettier, cleaner garments that women wore, and found them both wonderful and very inconvenient. There was nowhere to hide a blade in all those ruffles and skirts. How could you outrun a gendarme in those shoes? The parasols would make weapons, but they weren't good compared to clubs and nightsticks.

She did not dream of dragons or princes. She dreamed of a faraway land that had food aplenty and a way out for herself and her younger sister, but every dream has an end, and Eponine kept hers on ice for now. If there was one thing she learned in life, it was the constant change. It was pointless to let go of a dream even if she was living harshly. Her hope kept her alive and her spirit kept her fast to escape from danger.

In time, she became her own prince.

In time, she found her own damsel in distress. He dressed in black and seemed to be in a constant state of woe. He noticed her presence from time to time but never when it counted. She kneed Montparnasse in the groin when he attempted to rob the young man. She mocked her father with Marius when she received the note and ate his bread. She kept him safe at the barricade from the dragons on the other side.

When all was said and done, she had come out the other side all the more fiesty. She always knew what little she was worth, but now she knew how much she was worth, and the two numbers contradicted one another.

She kissed him and it was meant to be for farewell. She didn't want tears. She wanted to be away from her life, to find somewhere new and exciting. Homeless, she may be, but she had wings and she had Azelma, and she would find them a new nest somewhere out of the filth of the city.

But then his hand clasped hers and he asked her not to depart from him.

And because Eponine was a noble knight, she could not stand to break his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

She did not clean up very well.

Marius had come back home from his firm, hoping to see the house in some semblance of order. Granted, he was careful not to make much of a mess anyway. The only idea he had of a mistress' duty had been between Courfeyrac, who thought the world began and ended in bed, and Gillenormand, who spent much of his time doing the chasing.

Eponine was the only one who could change his perceptions, but that was proving to be a bit difficult since she had her own ideas.

The house was not cleaned, but she had managed to pilfer someone's wallet. "I used it to purchase us dinner."

He tried taking her out on his arm, but the first two females they passed did them the disservice of looking upon Eponine as though she was dirt.

Marius didn't know she could spit so far or so accurately. He had to impress himself upon the police officer that Eponine had acted in self-defense and he would pay for the girls' ripped clothing.

About the only ideas they had of being a mistress were the ones spent in bed, and even then it was Marius who was sore the next day and walking funny to work. Eponine, for her part, stayed in bed until the afternoon and rose up only to face the daily rush and grind of being a mistress. There was a large crowd out on the streets today, and those pockets wouldn't pick themselves.

Marius would be so proud.


	3. Chapter 3

She had been Marius' mistress for awhile now as he scraped together funds to purchase her a proper ring. He intended to do everything by the book, including steadily courting her and then marriage. Eponine would have preferred a good roll in the proverbial hay to all this waiting, but she knew how flustered Marius could get.

Of course, this just made her fantasize about tying him up one night and teaching him all she knew. The only thing that stopped her was that he would likely claim something about propriety.

Honestly. The man could be so slow sometimes.

Like now.

"Because you haven't eaten?" Marius guessed.

She smiled. "That would be a start. You haven't taken me out to eat. You know I can't cook and you neglect yourself when you start studying your law. So are you going to ask me?"

Marius immediately stood, facing Eponine with her slightly tattered skirt and her stained shirt. He bowed as though she were a princess. "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner?"

Eponine tapped her finger against her cheek in contemplation. "When asked so severely, I think it would be rude to say no. Let me get changed first. I'll not have you be seen with someone so bedraggl-"

Her breath caught in her throat as he crushed her lips to his, one of his hands wrapped around her wrist, pulling and keeping her close. All the passion Marius kept close to his chest tended to come out in his searing kisses that made her forgetful of everything.

When at last he pulled away, he touched her cheek. "I'll not be seen with anyone else."

It was a clumsy sentence, but the full romantic intentions Marius meant all too well. Eponine smiled at him, loving his awkwardness and mangled sentiments of love.


	4. Chapter 4

At the seaside.

* * *

He searched for her on the banks of the sea, tripping over a few people who either laughed good-naturedly at him or who flung sand at his legs as he apologized. The sand was warm underneath his bare feet and he moved quickly along the way, looking for the familiar bit of chestnut colored hair.

He sought her on the boardwalk, moving from store to store, asking the clerks if they had seen her, and did he know just how many girls passed their way in the span of an hour let alone three? Marius was not inclined to give up the hunt. He passed a few of his friends who cheered him on with Courfeyrac asking if he had gotten into a tiff with her.

"Perhaps she stormed off elsewhere, tired of your bumblings, and wanting to swim it off," he suggested with a clap on the back.

Marius accepted the jibe, knowing Courfeyrac was teasing, but there was always a small doubt in the back of his mind. Courfeyrac, so easy with the fairer sex, so at ease with others even strangers. He could have whomever he wanted with his grace and charm. Courfeyrac was chivalrous.

What did Marius have to offer next to his friend?

He found her on the docks, and he intended to tell ask forgiveness, for losing his way amongst the crowds at the seaside, for going for drinks they did not need. But his breath caught in his throat as the rays of dying sunlight caught her hair. She was still gaining a bit more weight from her childhood emaciation, and the shine had ebbed a bit from her physical features, and yet what was coming back to her was being restored with a resplendence made all the more ethereal by her undying spirit. She looked to be of singular beauty as she stood upon the docks, a seashell tucked against her ear, her eyes shut as she listened to the waves.

He did not know what to say.

The transparent wrap came loose from her waist due to the wind and her eyes reopened in time to see the wrap hit the waves. Without a thought, Marius dove into the ocean from the side of the dock, startling both himself and Eponine as he swam out to retrieve the wrap. He brought it back, resembling a puppy with wide eyes as he wrung out the flimsy cloth before sheepishly handing it back to her.

"My hero," she said.

He knew better than to apologize for the wait. Eponine never needed apologies. All that mattered was that he had found her, and in his arms, she felt like she was home.


	5. Chapter 5

The next three drabbles are based on a modernized RPG. In this one Enjolras teaches Eponine how to drive.

* * *

"Right is brake. Left is gas. Everything else is perspective. Akin to, say, the two political parties."

"Which way do I go?"

"That's up to what you believe. I can't make that decision for you. Either you go to the right or to the left, and apparently every vote in the middle is a waste in this country. This is why the entire government ought to go through a massive overhaul. We need to grant the common man a voice. It is not enough simply to call him the ninety-nine percent. We must-"

"I meant which way do I drive?"

"Oh. Straight for now. Have you anywhere to be?"

"I should like to find the way to Marius' house."

"That's simple enough. You can set the GPS for your destination. Let it tell you which way to go. Allow me."

"Thank you. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. Oh! What did I just run over?"

"Only a rabbit. That is good. That is proper. In the ideal world, there will be no rabbits."

"What about stop signs?"

"Just as there will be no traffic lights, there will be no stop signs. We will all have flying cars anyway, so knowing how to drive upon the road will be a boon to you. An extra bit of knowledge."

"I mean, should I stop at the sign?"

"May as well. No one's coming. You can go."

"So how do you do that thing you do? When you turn the car on the side?"

"You need to take the turn very quickly. Here, get her up to over sixty."

"Is it safe?"

"Safer than a barricade."

"Oh my! OH MY!"

"Yes, you feel that? That's the engine. Now you're taking her over seventy. Good. Perfect. Now when you get closer to that road, turn right. But don't slow down. And...now!"

"OH MY LORD!"

"Ah, see? That was almost perfect. You kept three wheels on the ground, but that's just because I'm here, and my weight tends to pull the car down a bit more. Perhaps if you try it at around eighty or so, you should be able to lift up two wheels. But no matter. You're doing quite well."

"Will this be on the driving test?"

"Unfortunately, no. They only judge you if you run over the cones instead of dodging them. I'll need to teach you to weave. And there's Pontmercy's house. Feel free to parallel park. See those two cars up there? You'll be swinging this car in-between them. Think you can do that?"

"How?"

"Get a good speed going, and as soon as you're a little bit past the first car, hastily turn the steering wheel so that the car swings in a circle. If you do it right, you should leave some tire tracks."

"I did it!"

"And with only minimal fuss."

"Should I be worried about that dent on his car?"

"No, it's just Marius'. He'll forgive you."


	6. Chapter 6

Eponine, Marius, and Gavroche go to a water park.

* * *

Marius liked to think of himself as a patient man. His friends sometimes tried his patience. His eccentric grandfather sometimes tried his patience. Even society in general sometimes tried his patience. He was still socially awkward, still was unsure if when he passed people on the street they were laughing at him or at something else. He tried keeping an open mind on certain criteria. With an open mind came the need for patience to listen to those ideas said in full.

So what happens if the ideas aren't so much verbal as they were physical?

Gavroche, for instance, was not interested in making a very good impression on Marius. The boy was growing quickly on Marius' friends, and Eponine had only just reunited with Gavroche. Marius was a bit lost on the details between that union, but he felt it best to try and make a positive impression on Gavroche.

He could be protective and loving of Eponine.

Unfortunately, Gavroche thought he could be far more protective of his older sister, and enjoyed taking potshots at Marius whenever he could. Marius was able to dodge a kick from the boy, but he couldn't dodge the fact that 'One Drop Too Many' was a slide that went straight down, terrifying, and he had already seen one kid get a broken nose from going down it. Nor could he dodge Gavroche's taunts.

"I'll race you there," the kid goaded.

Marius looked to Eponine for help, but she just held up the camera. "I'll get your pictures when you come down."

So there went Marius. Up the ladder through the line. Standing atop the slide, he couldn't help but note how high up they were and how dizzy he was feeling.

"Sorry, kid. You need permission for this."

Marius looked back to see one of the handlers talking to Gavroche.

"The hell I do! I'm twelve! That's old enough to decide where I want to slide down."

The handler looked amused. "Go on back down, kid. Or we can find your parents and if they give you permission-"

"Excuse me," Marius cut in, grateful for the distraction and the stalling. "But I'm the boy's father."

The man gave Marius an appraising look. Marius just shrugged.

"I had him young."

"You judging younger parents now?" Gavroche asked, sounding more cocky now that he had the power of numbers on his side.

The handler finally shrugged and stepped aside. Marius traded a look with Gavroche right before the two of them plunged down. Marius shrieked. Gavroche yelled. At the end, Marius had hopes that helping Gavroche and proving his manliness on the slide would be enough to win the boy over.

It was enough to earn him a threat.

"If you hurt my sister, I'll make your life a living hell."

He supposed it was a fair compromise.


	7. Chapter 7

In which it is explained how Eponine got the car in a tree with Combeferre narrating.

* * *

Enjolras, having finished paying off his car, had gifted the keys to Eponine. His main focus was now on his new mode of transportation and he had wanted to see his car go to a good home.

I can understand this. It's quite like my friend to do something charitable, philanthropic, and kind. Eponine needed an automobile of her own, considering she would be taking classes at the university soon. Having my own car currently in the shop made me far more appreciative of the freedom it can bring. She offered me a ride across town so I could still attend my lecture. I accepted, pleased that she was gracing me with a lift and because my acceptance seemed to brighten her as well.

"Who taught you how to drive?" I asked as I slid into the passenger seat, shut my door, and buckled up.

"Enjolras," she replied.

The doors were suddenly locked and I had a mild panic attack as she peeled out of the parking lot.

I love my friend dearly, but he drives like a demon. He seems to take a strange glee when it comes to speed, making 'good time' as he calls it, and finding new inventive ways of terrifying his passengers. I hoped Eponine hadn't picked up his bad habits.

"Not to worry," she said. "We'll make good time!"

I clung to my seat belt.

Her driving was a shade better than Enjolras', and by better I mean less wheelies. This is not because of her lack of commitment to the method of driving, but rather due to lack of experience. Given another few months and she would likely be taking turns on one wheel instead of two.

I prayed, dear reader.

But nothing Enjolras has ever done has compared at all to the junction over the highways. This junction had several bridges going every which way around the highway. Heights made me a little nervous, and apparently Eponine was so entranced with the speedometer - "One day, I'm going to break his record!" - that we ended up missing the exit.

Fortunately, Eponine knew how to think on her feet.

Unfortunately, the thought of turning around didn't occur to her.

Eponine's answer was something entirely different. She aimed for the parking lot at the lecture hall, and then sailed the car right off of one of the higher junctions.

We caught air.

I have never been so terrified in all my life. I think I screamed. I think I said a prayer. I think I believed in all the deities that ever existed within those precious few seconds, and I wondered if I'd be able to find Enjolras and the others in the next life as I had in this one.

We landed not on the ground. Not even in a parking space. We landed in a tree. The branches scratched along the side of the car, and I stared at a few pinecones, hardly believing my luck or my life.

"I was off by a few feet. Maths just aren't my strong suit," Eponine huffed.

I needed to get my phone. I needed to call my parents. I needed to call Enjolras and Courfeyrac and all the others just to let them know that I still lived, that I loved them, that I would like very much to come home right now.

A bird landed on the hood of the car and tweeted at us. I identified it on instinct, and only then did I get my brain back into gear.

A few phone calls later saw us being rescued from the tree. Eponine wanted to get out on her own, but I convinced her not to since the loss of her weight may send the car falling down with me in it.

"You should jump out then!"

Nothing doing, I said with emphasis.

Once we were safe, the car was removed from the tree. Enjolras paid for the bill on that with an understanding smile at Eponine. I hadn't driven with Enjolras in awhile. Had he ever done this?

Understanding smile or not, from now on, I'll be the one driving.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Recently did a drabble-fest for my friends. This is one of them.

* * *

He expected her to be shivering. Bundled in flimsy garments, blowing on her hands to stay warm. He thought she would resemble a small mouse amidst all the snow. The wind would tear at what little clothing was upon her, her hair would be half frozen from the ice, and her cheeks would be red as her skin turned a bit harder. Would she suffer from frost bite? He thought he would be her savior once again.

He would bundle her up.

He would bring her back to his apartment, light a fire, and she would cling to him, still shivering, as he warmed her up. The landlady would bring them hot tea, and he would tell her of the holiday season he used to spend at his grandfather's.

Reality did not live up to his expectations.

His apartment was cold and not very well-furnished. The landlady was more inclined to demand rent than to provide hot tea. He wasn't bundled up well at all, despite Courfeyrac letting him borrow a few pieces of his wardrobe.

When Eponine saw him, she gently chastised him. "When you haven't enough to wear, you keep busy." She wasn't shivering. She was chopping wood. "I've some for your room as well."

To feel better about his situation, he carried the wood up to his room. Trying not to appear sheepish, he once more felt out of place. Delusions of being a white knight fled his mind to be replaced with his desire to be warm.

Eponine took care of that as well, holding him close and stroking his face until the feeling returned. Marius learned a great deal that winter, some of it trivial, some of it to aid with the survival of those who couldn't afford to stay warm and eat every day.

He hoped the summer months would come soon. Perhaps it would be easier to become her knight then.


	9. Chapter 9

This was part of my series of Courfeyrac vs. Javert, but it turned into something grander. From a prompt given by a dear friend.

* * *

He lived next door to a sordid drama. The nights he spent translating were interrupted by howls of indignation and the odd slap of flesh against flesh. When his neighbors got violent, Marius became more quiet. The yelling, he could understand. Everyone lost their temper. But the violence chilled him to his core. The closest he had ever gotten to violence within his life was when Theodule's teasing turned into a punch to the arm. Theodule had always been chastised whenever he stepped out of bounds, but there was no angry Gillenormand here to handle the neighbors. Marius tried not to wish that there was. He was an independent man looking to make his own way now. He would have to learn how to deal with unruly neighbors that sometimes kept him up much later due to their fights.

If only they didn't have daughters.

"How do you handle it?" He asked Eponine in the morning hours when he met her at the well outside.

"Handle what?"

Her hands were callused upon her palms but the back of her hands looked soft. He sometimes wondered if the rest of her body was the same. Hard in places that were exposed to the extremes of the weather or human anger, but soft where she wouldn't show. It was a silly thought. "Your family."

Eponine considered multiple answers to that question. She shrugged.

Marius went on. "What if I could help you?"

Drawing the bucket out of the well, Eponine gave him a soft smile. "And what would you do, Monsieur Marius?"

Here Marius was at a loss. He only desired to do something. To not stand by the well like an idiot who couldn't think of the right words to say, who was powerless against the elder Jondrettes, who could only conjecture ideas and fantasize about making them a reality. "I would make them stop," he finally said. It was such a simple answer, one without any real backing.

Eponine took the words for what they were worth and just nodded. "It's enough that you would want to." A polite way of saying that it was the thought that counted. But thoughts meant nothing when action could not be placed behind it, and Marius was not a fighter.

He did, however, know a few fighters. He got his opportunity the night Courfeyrac's watch was pilfered.

"It was defenseless, I'll admit," Courfeyrac was saying to Bossuet and Joly. "But that was hardly my own fault. It didn't keep perfect time, but it was a sentimental item! Passed down from my grandfather and from his and so on. Probably since the day watches were created, or at least watches with fobs. There's a trivia question for you. When were they created? And here's the answer: It doesn't matter. My own was stolen by a dandy no less." He finished his speech with a sulk as he threw himself down into the waiting chair.

"A dandy?" Joly repeated. "Wouldn't they have their own pocket watches?"

"You would think that, wouldn't you? That there would exist a standardized palette of what would constitute a dandy, and if there was one I would certainly be the expert within it, but here it is, my friends." Courfeyrac leaned further against the table, drawing in Bossuet and Joly, and despite the closeness Marius could still hear what he had to say. "He was a fraud."

Marius was still in the phase of 'walking ghost' when it came to the Musain. He attended the meetings not to learn more, but to settle Courfeyrac down a little. He came because he often had little choice, and the warmth of the Musain was as good a place as any for him to work. The pretense of having friends also helped some, even though he often had difficulty following along with the conversations.

Courfeyrac's latest excursion interested him a little. He had been looking for a way to pay back Courfeyrac for all the help that his friend gave to him.

Bossuet laughed. "Was the card he carried not a proper color for you? Is there a fraud commission society that we ought to report this event to? He has your watch now! Does that make him a slightly larger percentage to being a true dandy and does that lessen your commitment?"

"You would make light of this," Courfeyrac cried. "You would laugh at my torment when I tell you that I've been ripped off by a thief and a fraud! Perhaps this means nothing at all to you, but the day that I get property taken from me from such a person is the day I find myself ashamed at calling myself-"

"What did he look like?" Joly cut in as he tugged Courfeyrac's sleeve to pull his friend back down. "Perhaps we can keep an eye out for him."

So mollified, Courfeyrac sat back down and regaled his friends with the description of the thief.

Marius listened in and felt several pangs of familiarity. He had seen the man Courfeyrac so described before.

"Worse, he had a knife! He pulled a knife on me," Courfeyrac recounted. "A true dandy has no need of blades. Not when we have our words. It's easier to cut a man with words than with a knife, and he certainly bleeds more. All the same, I thought it best to give him what he wanted and send him on his way. He clearly doesn't understand life, liberty, and another man's rights."

Marius turned in his seat to face the trio's table. "I think I know who you're talking about." All at once, the attention shifted to him and he felt a quick flare of fear. Attention was rarely a good thing for him and he was still trying to learn who these people were. All the same, he swallowed hard and told them of the gang of thugs that sometimes came by his house to speak with the Jondrettes.

He didn't mention the abuse of the two daughters, but he had a feeling that he didn't have to. If Courfeyrac came by, if Courfeyrac saw what happened, perhaps he would be able to help Eponine in a way that Marius could not. Perhaps the lost watch was a blessing in disguise.

He finished recounting what he saw of this mysterious false dandy when Enjolras and Combeferre came into the back room, and Courfeyrac came so swiftly out of his chair that one would think a firecracker had gone off in his pants. "Enjolras! You must hear about my tale of the loss of liberty!"

Marius blocked out the rest of the meeting. He remained for an hour, hoping Courfeyrac would ask him more questions about the place, but soon went back home. After a day or so, he forgot about the incident.

Four days after the stolen watch, Marius had another reason to seek outside help. This came in the form of a crime, and he spoke to the Inspector of police. Javert wasn't a man Marius could see himself doing much business with, but his chats were short and he was given a gun to protect himself.

How devastating it was to learn the true identities of the Jondrettes! To know that the person Marius had plotted against was the one who he should be protecting. It was a terrible blow of fate to land him in this position. Dare he shoot the gun? It wouldn't be for his own sake, surely, but for Eponine's. Perhaps he could change his debt from Thenardier to her? Would it work like that? Would his father feel absolution from beyond the grave? Or was that too easy of an answer.

Half of the solution came in the form of the police who stormed in without the gun going off, who kept the so-called Patron Minette in place.

The other half of the solution came in the form of sudden anarchy. A group of masked men entered the house, shot upstairs, and promptly devastated the entire scene. The police turned on them and were quickly brought down. Marius had never seen so many fists flying. Inspector Javert tried to use his nightstick upon one of the masked men, but he was displaced by a low kick to the nether regions. The only one who was spared was Madame Thenardier who was wise enough to keep herself to herself in the middle of so much chaos.

At long last, everyone in the room was sprawled out on the floor, save for Madame Thenardier, the old man who was nowhere to be seen, and the masked men. One of them darted forward and yanked a watch off of the larger man who was a part of the Patron-Minette.

"Cheers!" Was all that was said. It was a jovial cry of triumph even as the strange group departed in the same manner in which they came in.

Marius followed behind them at a distance. He was not so naive as to be unable to put things together. His two outs for Eponine had fallen into one another, and the gendarmes did not mix well with Republicans. In the end, he wasn't sure what was accomplished.

"Monsieur Marius?"

The whisper on the wind came from the side of the building and he could not help but run to the voice. Marius lacked the words to convey just what had happened upstairs. Would Eponine believe him? Would she understand it if he tried to explain why he did what he did? Would she be angry at the arrest of so many?

He held her gently. "Best not to go inside just yet," he said, hating that he couldn't make his voice more comforting in the chilling wind.

"Then where can we go?"

We, she said. Yes, we. He would want to go with her and avoid the wrath of Javert who likely was not in the best of moods right now. "I have a friend that we can probably stay with for a day or so. It will do for now." He hoped Courfeyrac had a spare mattress or an idea of where they could stay. Propriety be damned, he would make sure that Eponine did not come to any more harm and that was far more important than societal rules.

Perhaps he could be made a revolutionary yet.


	10. Chapter 10

Modern AU. Marius and Eponine go on a double date with Enjolras and Grantaire. Things don't go as planned.

* * *

"We don't have to go if you don't want to."

Grantaire's voice, though quiet, managed to seep into Enjolras' thoughts. He turned his gaze away from the window. "No, it's fine."

The date had been scheduled well ahead in advance. While Marius and Eponine had been together nearly since the time they had met, Enjolras and Grantaire's relationship was a bit more complex. They went out together. They did activities together. Grantaire would sometimes attend a lecture that Enjolras was interested in seeing with him, but they hadn't officially deemed themselves a couple until recently. Enjolras didn't think labels were all that useful and Grantaire was just fine in whatever Enjolras wanted.

Eponine had first approached Grantaire with the idea. Realizing that Grantaire would waffle on it until Enjolras gave his own answer, she approached him with the idea. She had hoped that Grantaire would say yes, and maybe convince Enjolras of the rightness of such a concept. While Enjolras had never said or done anything negative to her, it was Eponine's impression that he rarely indulged in anything relationship-centered.

His answer surprised her.

"What did Grantaire say when you asked him?"

She wasn't above lying. "He said yes, but to ask you as well."

Enjolras looked slightly taken aback, but he finally nodded. "When will it be?"

She gave him the details and got out of there before he could ask her any questions. She could still lie to him, but it was hard to do so without feeling guilty.

Grantaire wasn't certain of the point of double-dating. He understood the concept, but he couldn't help but want his dates with Enjolras to be private affairs. Enjolras surrounded himself with people nearly every day at all times. He couldn't blame the others. Enjolras operated like a giant magnet, drawing people in either with his words, his charisma, or his ideas. It wasn't conversation he was after, it was thoughts and progress. He enjoyed making the people around him think, if not positively about a subject than constructively about another. It fueled his own passion and commitment to his causes.

So Grantaire had been ready and willing to pet Eponine consolingly on the shoulder after Enjolras shot her down. "He just doesn't have the mind for romance," he would say. "But that's why we love him." And Eponine would agree and go on her way with Marius. While Grantaire would reassure Enjolras later that "So you don't want to date with other people in tow. Lots of people don't like doing that. It's fine. Let's spend the evening at home." Life would be perfect and it was all so simple.

No one was more surprised than he was that Enjolras said yes.

Hence the conversation they were having on the day of the event. Enjolras, already dressed in a fairly casual outfit, sat by the window watching the snow fall. Grantaire, still trying to decide on a shirt that lacked any stains, kept a watchful eye on him. The look on Enjolras' face was pensive, but it seemed directionless. He wasn't thinking about the date.

He was thinking about other matters. Other ideas well beyond Grantaire's scope. The passage of time and existences did nothing to change Enjolras' habits. When he wanted answers, he looked to the light, preferring the nature-based ones. In the cold December afternoon, he watched the snow coming down but did not see the flakes. Grantaire wouldn't have minded just watching him for a time, but needs must. And if he was doomed to spend an evening with another couple, he may as well get his time in with Enjolras now.

Choosing a shirt, he walked over to the window seat, cupped his lover's face between his hands, and kissed him. He didn't stop until he felt Enjolras responding to him, becoming more aware of him. It wasn't fair, Grantaire thought, that Enjolras should travel to other lands mentally and leave him behind. "Are you certain you're all right with this?" He asked again.

Enjolras touched his shoulder. "Are you? This is the second time you've asked me. We'll be fine."

Enjolras says we'll. Grantaire's heart soared as it always did whenever Enjolras spoke of them as a couple.

In truth, Enjolras' own anxiety wasn't about the date but concerning Eponine's other half. He had once gone out to eat with Marius as a gesture of good will.

"He's lonely," Courfeyrac had told him. "I think he wants to get back in with us, but he needs to see that you and Combeferre are willing to include him. One night. That's all I'm asking."

So he took Courfeyrac up on his offer and asked Marius out.

Mistake number one. Asking people out had different connotations.

"I'm flattered that you would ask me out," Marius had stammered, eyes as wide as saucers, "but I'm not gay."

Nevermind that they had been in class at the time and a slew of students turned to face them.

Mistake number two. After clarifying to Marius what he meant, he allowed Marius to choose the place.

Enjolras' father was disgustingly rich. This didn't mean they ate at fancy restaurants or joined country clubs. Enjolras' father had gotten rich based upon a slew of wise investments and working his way through the government. He had neither the time nor the inclination to indulge himself in any stereotypical pissing contest with other millionaires. Instead, he brought his son up on either home cooked meals or took him out to restaurants well below their means.

Enjolras never complained about it. He had a warm fondness for hole-in-the-wall diners and places with flair up on the walls. Going to restaurants that required all men to wear jackets and that charged for usage of the facilities was beyond his understanding.

He sat in stony silence as Marius dug into his filet. The waiter was cordial enough, though he raised an eyebrow at Enjolras ordering a salad and nothing else. The prices looked too steep for Enjolras to justify spending on a small piece of meat. This was not his crowd, and the crowd soon became more charged when Enjolras' conversation became more animated and loud as it grew increasingly political.

Enjolras was asked to leave. Marius asked if he was still allowed to stay to finish off his dinner.

It was one of the few times Enjolras had to report a failure back to Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac only laughed.

Recounting what had happened to Grantaire had Grantaire giving him more sympathy. "That won't happen," Grantaire assured him. "I don't think Eponine would put up with that."

Eponine, who wasn't about to lose out on this rare occasion, had prepared thoroughly for it. Marius had spoken to her about a few of his own concerns, and her mainstay thought was that it wouldn't matter where they all went. What mattered was that they would be doing it together.

She did not choose a fancy restaurant. Like Enjolras, she would feel far too out of her element. Aside from that Marius had started forming an estrangement with his grandfather. Money was starting to become tight, and to lead him to a place that costs a hundred a plate would be adding insult on top of injury. Marius still wanted to be the noble gentleman and pay for them both, but Eponine had her pride and knowledge of finances to steer him clear of the stereotypical show-off-for-your-date areas.

She did not know Enjolras and Grantaire so well, but from what she could see of them both, it was easy to deduce that they'd feel more comfortable in a familiar environment. Especially with Grantaire stuck in a quiet panic, fearing he would do or say the wrong thing and Enjolras would lose all semblance to what made him Enjolras and lash out. And Enjolras?

Eponine liked to think that she understood his sort of disposition. A rich student uncomfortable with the upper class due to their ideals. Unable to fit in with the poor due to privilege. She did not feel sorry for him as he'd never accept pity, but it was easy to see him as a sort of charity case, though the charity was offered in terms of acceptance and guidance rather than anything monetary. It was strange to think of Enjolras in terms of a person when he tended to be so much more than. He had aided her in ways no one else had and when he spoke, it was with convictions she never heard before. He tended to stay aloof to all save for those closest to him.

Which was why Grantaire so appealed to her when it came to Enjolras. Grantaire was not like Eponine. He was almost shy, shuffling his way through life with drink and song, and thought little of Enjolras' ideals and thought the world of Enjolras. In a way, Grantaire humanized Enjolras to her. Not that Grantaire brought Enjolras down, but Eponine did love seeing the man get under Enjolras' skin, pushing Enjolras into something akin to resignation, creating negotiations where he normally wouldn't, and cease talking of politics to settle for talks of mundane matters.

Mundane matters tended to be the essence of life to Eponine. She could understand high and mighty virtues, but talk meant little next to action, and she vastly preferred actions. Enjolras had a lovely voice, and she most liked listening to him when he was talking about day to day matters.

She liked seeing them together. They met somewhere between the ground and the sky, and it reminded her of her relationship with Marius. Though he wasn't soaring due to ideals, but simply because he forgot to take off his wings. And she didn't crawl out of jaded misgivings and cynicism, but because of realistic expectations of life.

So she took the other three to a distinctly middle-class restaurant that served some of the best spinach dip this side of the equator. Conversation was easy to maintain so long as only she and Grantaire came up with the topics. While it wouldn't be so bad for Grantaire to hear Enjolras speak on politics, it was the arguments sure to come with Marius that kept him from approaching the topic.

Dinner, she thought, was a success.

The theater afterwards? Not so much.

She had grave misgivings about seeing a movie. Grantaire was up for anything, save for a chick-flick. Enjolras had preferences, but mainly kept out of such matters since all cinema to him was either hit or miss. She would prefer something either romantic or featuring chainsaws. Marius was a bit on the fence about several that none of the others wanted to see.

Eponine made the only mistake of the night in opting for the latest Michael Bay feature.

Marius felt more comfortable in entering the darkened theater. It was an old-fashioned set up with a few seats a bit higher than others, akin to a regular musical theater. A mezzanine, his grandfather had called it. "Before your time, that's how some theaters were made. You're lucky you'll be attending college in such an old town. These days, people don't appreciate that architecture. Especially the section in the back right below the overlooking seats. It's as dark as a tomb back there. Easy to have your fun."

He felt even more comfortable when Grantaire, taking Enjolras' hand, said that he and Enjolras would be sitting up on the mezzanine. Eponine let them go and steered Marius into the lower section. She sat them far back enough, but not too far back into the darkened section. Marius wasn't sure why he dreaded that area so much.

"Want anything to eat or drink?" He asked, figuring he should take care of her.

"Any gummi bears if they have them. If not, I'll settle for snocaps. And a drink." She smiled. "Thank you."

He would do anything for that smile.

Grantaire met him in the lobby and waved at him from the line he stood in. "C'mon over!" There was no one behind Grantaire anyway, so Marius didn't quite get the point, but he joined the older man anyway. "I take it you were sent out to get your fair maiden something?"

"I volunteered," Marius corrected. "You were sent out?"

"No. He doesn't ask for anything, but I wanted popcorn." The line moved quickly enough, and Grantaire ended up ordering more than just popcorn. A medium-sized bucket, a drink, several boxes of candy, and a raised eyebrow from Marius.

"You're going to eat all of that?"

"Of course not. I'll be sharing with him. He has a penchant for candy." Grantaire, not sure what Enjolras would want to eat due to having no direction, opted for what he thought looked good. Marius settled himself with his order, though the concession stand attendant told him in no uncertain terms that the gummi bears were stale and that they didn't have coke, only pepsi.

Grantaire watched him, shifting from foot to foot while holding his items.

Marius had little choice but to walk with him back into the theater. "Ever see Bay's films?" Grantaire asked.

"No."

"You'll like them. They're too damn long, though. Good for disregarding the plot and just for being close to the one you love." How he managed to nudge Marius' elbow without spilling anything, Marius wasn't sure.

"Mm," he said, noncommittally before quickening his step and finding Eponine once again.

"No gummi bears?" Eponine asked when Marius handed her the snocaps.

"They were stale," Marius muttered.

She kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

He wondered if he could hold her hand throughout the movie. A few more people trickled into the theater before the previews started.

A good half hour into the film, Marius felt something hit his head. It was a light tap and he turned around to see if the people sitting behind him wanted his attention. But the seats behind himself were empty. Touching his hair, he felt nothing out of the norm. Turning back to the movie, he wondered if Eponine's fingers had touched him. Maybe she wanted to be closer? He slid an arm around her shoulders, feeling a bit more confident.

Two minutes later and he felt another tap against his head. And then another. A kernel of popcorn fell from his hair and onto his shoulder.

"What.." He brushed it off and, again, turned to look behind him.

Several more kernels of popcorn fell from the sky, this time landing on Eponine and Marius. Eponine let out a sound that resembled a stifled laugh as she turned and inclined her head upwards.

Marius followed her example and looked up.

Grantaire made a face at them.

And then he tossed several of the heated heart candies he had purchased. They hit their intended target - Marius' face - and in a gesture of sublime chivalry, Eponine hurled several snocaps at Grantaire that bounced against his cheeks and nose.

"Oh, it's on!" Grantaire said, a bit too loudly as several people turned in their direction.

More candy started to be flung, and with the battle increasing in speed, any attention to the movie was forgotten and Marius tried ducking and covering to avoid the popcorn. Of course, there was no ducking from the entire bucket being pushed down upon him by Enjolras. It landed atop Marius' head, and as he felt butter run over his ears, he wondered why he had ever thought himself to be safe in the theater.

"To arms! To arms! We shall give you no quarter!"

He could not tell who had said that with the bucket covering his eyes, but it sounded suspiciously like Eponine.

"You can't stop me! I am pain! I am death! I am your worst nightmare!"

Grantaire was starting to scare him.

"What should I do?" He asked Eponine, hoping his options were to inform a manager.

"Go out and get more candy!"

His disappointment was emphasized by several stale gummi bears hitting him in the chest. One of them stuck to his jacket.

In the end, there were no winners or losers. Only annoyed ushers and a manager escorting all four of them out of the theater.

Enjolras gave Grantaire a victory kiss regardless. Marius politely averted his eyes. Eponine watched in delight.

"Perhaps we should call it a night?" She suggested after seeing Marius' discomfort.

"May as well. I've a paper to write before morning," Enjolras conceded, and to Eponine's further delight, he sounded genuinely sad to end the date. Grantaire beamed all too proudly.

"We should do this again sometime."

She was inclined to agree. Perhaps next time she would bring some extra money to spend on nachos and wouldn't allow Enjolras and Grantaire to have the higher ground.


End file.
